1. Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to a thermal cycler for performing amplification of nucleic acids, e.g. by means of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
2. Description of the Prior Art
Thermal cyclers of the above-mentioned kind have a heated lid which is positioned manually to cover a plurality of reaction vessels positioned in chambers of a thermal block of the thermal cycler during thermal cycling of sample-reaction-mixtures contained in the reaction vessels. The lid is also manually removed in order to have access to the reaction vessel after the end of the thermal cycling. Known lids of the latter type have a key disadvantage. They are not suitable for automatic change of their position with respect to the thermal block.